Debra Webb - Agent Cowboy

And then he moved away. By the sound of his steps she knew he was moving toward Ray’s office. A scream welled in her throat. She had to warn him! But if she moved…if she uttered a single word.

The door opened…banged against the wall.

More of those hissing pops.

Not a single protest was uttered.

Only the muffled sound of something falling to the carpeted floor of her boss’s office. Ray…his client.

Then the stranger was moving about again.

Still in Ray’s office.

She should run.

If she made it out onto the street she could scream for help.

But everyone else in the complex was already gone.

No one would hear her.

He—the man wearing the boots—would kill her, too.

As if he’d heard her thoughts he moved back into the corridor outside Ray’s office…came closer to her desk.

She could feel her heart pounding against her sternum. Please God, she prayed, don’t let him know I’m here. The blood roared so loudly in her ears she felt certain he could hear it…could feel the fear swelling inside her.

“It’s done.”

She cocked her head and listened. Who was he talking to? He hadn’t picked up the phone on her desk. No one else had come in. A cell phone…maybe.

“Jarvis and the assistant.” Pause. “Him, too. No survivors.”

Oh God. He had killed Ray and the client in his office. Her eyes glazed with tears as her gaze settled on her friend. Ann. He thought Ann was…her. The assistant.

“I have the disk.” Pause. “No. There are too many possibilities to assume this would be his only copy. I suggest you send in a team to tear this place apart.”

Her fingers tightened around the disk in her hand.

“I’m doing that now.” The whir of the blinds being lowered punctuated his statement. The lights went out next. “I’ll be waiting out front.”

In the eternity that followed, he moved through the entire suite, Ray’s office, the lounge and rest room, the conference room, and then back into the lobby. The bob of a flashlight’s beam accompanied his movements. He’d turned off all the lights and lowered all blinds. Her heart thundered so hard she wondered if a heart attack was imminent. Then she heard the whoosh of the front door as he exited the lobby.

That’s when she started to shake.

He was gone. Outside. He’d told the man on the phone that he’d wait out front. A team was coming to tear the place apart.

She had to get out of here.

But how?

He was watching.

She licked her lips and gave her body the order to move. Yet it took several seconds before her muscles reacted.

Slowly, one inch at a time, she eased out from under the desk. She bumped into Ann’s body and a moan tore from her lips. Kelly clamped a hand over her mouth and resisted the urge to heave. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks and over her hand.

Ann was dead.

Ray was dead.

So was the unidentified client.

She had to get out…to run!

Slowly, careful not to make a sound, Kelly crawled away from the desk…huddled against the wall behind her chair.

What should she do now?

She couldn’t go out the front. Wouldn’t risk going out the back. He could be watching there, too. But she had to hide somewhere before the others arrived.

Her mind whirled with confusion. One escape scenario after the other tumbled through her mind, each one less feasible than the last. She squeezed her eyes shut in the darkness and forced her thoughts to slow. She had to think clearly here. Had to have a strategy.

There was no place to hide that they wouldn’t look.

A whimper escaped her brutal hold on her emotions. They were going to kill her.

The phone.

She could call for help.

She edged toward her desk once more.

The police would arrive in mere minutes.

Relief flooded her.

A scrape of boot heel on concrete echoed just outside the door.

She froze.

He would hear her.

No matter how fast the police arrived it would be too late.

She’d already be dead.

She had to hide.

Leaving her shoes behind to aid in her stealth and moving as quickly as she dared for fear of making even the slightest sound, Kelly headed toward the lounge. She knew the floor plan by heart, which prevented her from bumping into anything since Ray was a stickler for everything being in its place.

Inside the bathroom she drew the door closed behind her. It was as dark as pitch but she didn’t dare turn on a light. She had to think. Had to hide.

They would likely look in the vanity cabinet which was the only place in the room she could conceal herself. There really was no safe place. Not Ray’s office, not the lobby or the lounge including the bathroom, definitely not in the small conference room. Not a single room in the entire suite offered any hope whatsoever.

She was dead.

Another whimper burgeoned in her throat.

Her fingers clenched more tightly around the disk.

No.

She had to get through this.

Had to do it for Ray and Ann.

Whoever had done this, she would see that they paid. If this disk contained evidence, she couldn’t let them find it. It had to be about the disk. He’d told the caller he had it, but apparently suspected there could be a copy. She stood on shaky legs and tucked the disk into the pocket of her slacks. Think, Kelly, she ordered. There had to be a way to do this.

There was a toilet, a small supply cabinet and the vanity in this room.

She looked upward. Though she couldn’t see a thing, she remembered the acoustic tiles that made up the ceiling. There would be room above them but she couldn’t be sure the slim framework would hold her weight. She couldn’t take the risk. If she broke anything or knocked something down he would know someone had been here.

Where could she hide?

Dammit! There had to be a place.

The ventilation return.

She stood stock still as she considered the possibility. It was in the corridor. The opening was twenty by thirty inches, she knew. She’d bought the filters often enough, even changed them on occasions. Her heart started to beat faster once more, this time with anticipation. That would work. Though she couldn’t escape that way since the duct would lead directly into the heating and cooling unit, she could hide.

Holding her breath, she exited the bathroom and moved noiselessly through the lounge. She listened intently for ten seconds before slipping back into the corridor. She prayed the killer was still outside.

He was supposed to be hanging around out front. He’d said he would wait. She chewed her lower lip and forced herself to think. She could sneak into Ray’s office and call for help. There wasn’t a phone in the lounge. But there was one in Ray’s office and in the conference room.

Why hadn’t she thought of that?

Stupid! Stupid!

She pressed against the wall and moved cautiously toward the conference room. Dark or not, she had no desire to go into Ray’s office with…with him in there dead.

“It’s about time.”

The words echoed from just outside the front entrance.

The sound paralyzed her.

More voices.

It was dark outside and she couldn’t see a damned thing, but she could hear.

She didn’t have time to make a call.

She had to hide.

Only two small latches held the grill closed over the return duct. She turned them one at a time, then drew the grill open. Her fingers trembling she moved the filter out of the way, setting it to one side in the duct. Sliding in feet first, she settled into the duct and then pulled the grill closed. The latches were a bit harder to turn from the inside, but she managed. Just as she angled the filter back into place footsteps echoed in the lobby.

They were inside.